Saturday, 21 January 2017

On the Mat Day 795: Deep Half Guard

This week we are working on opening closed guard. Opening closed guard never really gets any easier. I've always thought it better to stand up to break and pass. Although, this week was mainly focused on the Wilson Reis/Sao Paulo pass, which I like but tend to mess it up near the end. K-sensei gave me some advice, which was to switch my hips (switch to kesa-gatame) while still moving forward since I tend to take the pressure off at this point.

I've also been attempting deep half guard while sparring. It's a guard I used very rarely since blue belt. I often stall here and get into all sorts of trouble. In an attempt to get out of the plateau I am in right now, I am working on this guard in addition to butterfly and single X. These are guards I never really used, instead preferring spider guard or lasso guard with more room to play.

I'm a little beat up today after sparring twice with Shusei yesterday. He is heavy and very technical, looking like a silverback and crushing me into the mat. It's funny because while I am getting crushed in half-guard or side control, all I can think of is how this is good for me and making me tougher as his weight drives into my diaphragm. I hate that weight driving into and under my ribs like that but at the end of the day it builds my resistance to being crushed.

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About Me

I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in October 2009 after getting fit using P90X. Ive done a number of martial arts since I was 13 years old; Karate (Wado-Ryu, Shotokan), Aikido, Boxing, Pancrase and Kendo. I started BJJ because I've always had an interest in submission techniques. I am currently a black belt under Shinsuke Fukuzumi. My initial goal for doing BJJ was to become tough and improve my self-defence skills. This has changed quite a bit and I now find myself doing BJJ more for the enjoyment and health aspect. I maintain a steady weight of 73 to 74 kg and sometimes compete under Leve (lightweight).
I try to train 3-4 times a week while balancing a busy full time job and meet the demands of my 3 young kids.
BJJ Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Waldomiro Perez > Roberto Godoi > Marco Barbosa>Shinsuke Fukuzumi